What is Land Use Planning?
Land use planning is about the management of growth and development.
"Land use planning helps municipalities manage land and resources and guides decisions about where:
- to build homes and factories
- to put parks and schools
- roads, sewers and other essential services are needed
Land use planning helps each community to set development goals while keeping social, economic and environmental factors in mind. It also balances the interests of individual property owners with the wider interests of the whole community." (From the Citizen's guide to land use planning)
How does Land Use Planning work?
In Ontario, land use planning is a top-down hierarchy.
Ontario's Planning Act is the Provincial legislation on land use planning.
The Planning Act requires all decisions of the Municipality to be consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement.
The County of Hastings Official Plan sets policies for growth and development.
The Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw regulates growth and development.
To learn more, you can go to the Province of Ontario's webpage on Land use planning.